Macaroons
by WolfieANNE
Summary: Seeing how fun it was to be with her, it got him thinking. Perhaps Valentine's wasn't so boring after all.


**Macaroons**

**WARNING:** This chapter was not beta read; I only proofread this.

**Genre:** Romance, Friendship

**DISCLAIMER:** _I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro mashima does._

* * *

Midnight eyes watched the crowd with interest; his chin leaned against the back of his hand as he sipped on his shake. Wishfully, he released the straw from his mouth with a loud _pop_ and stood up to pay for the drink. Fishing out a few jewels from his pocket, he placed them on the counter and turned to leave the shop.

Outside, there were couples and hearts everywhere. To be honest, he was getting tired of all the lovey-dovey stuff here but who was he to complain? Shrugging, he strolled casually down the road, ignoring the people who walked past him with hearts in their eyes and chocolates in their hands.

"Valentine's is just another normal day," he grumbled, digging his hands deeper into the pockets of his pants, "Why make a fuss about it?"

"That's because it's all about love!"

Surprised, the man looked over his shoulder to see his little blonde friend. She waved her hand and smiled gleefully, "Hi Gray!"

"Lucy," he acknowledged, his lips curling in amusement, "What brings you here?"

The woman shook her shoulder and laughed, "I don't know, love, I guess?"

Gray scoffed and rolled his eyes, "What's the point of looking for a one-day boyfriend?"

"I was joking," Lucy murmured, sounding offended.

The ice mage winced at the tone of her voice and sighed, patting her head, "I'm sorry for hurting your feelings; I know you're not like that anyway."

"It's okay," the blonde said, smiling, "So, why are you out in the city?" They resumed walking and Lucy shifted to walk on the riverside, "Don't you have a date? For Valentine's, I mean."

"That isn't really my thing," Gray stated, running his fingers gently through his hair, "I think it's just a waste of time."

"I see…" Lucy mumbled, rubbing her chin in thought. Though she planned on telling him something, she remained quiet and just balanced on the edge of the river, her arms spread out. Smiling, she hummed a song under her breath and wondered how fun it would've be if she had someone to spend Valentine's with.

She released a breath she didn't know she held and looked up at the sky, "It's so boring."

"The feeling's mutual," Gray said, smirking.

Lucy laughed and stepped down from the river side, "There's almost no one in the guild. Lisanna's out with Natsu, Mira's with Freed, Cana with who-knows-who, Happy with Carla and everyone is just out to have fun! And us? We're stuck being single."

The ice mage chuckled in amusement, "I think I'm fine with that."

"Well, the feeling's not mutual," the blonde mumbled, puffing her cheeks, "But I guess we can have fun too, right?"

Gray raised a brow in puzzlement and she grinned widely. Softly, she tugged him, "Let's cook ourselves dinner!"

His eyes widened, "I suck at cooking."

She smiled and patted his arm, "That's why I'll be there to teach you how to cook so that when you crave for something, you can just cook it yourself!"

"I could burn your kitchen, Lucy," Gray reprimanded, cobalt eyes staring into her hazel ones.

She rolled her eyes, "You're not Natsu, Gray. You'll be just fine."

"I'm worrying about that last part," he mumbled and sighed, "But alright, let's cook."

"Great!"

Minutes later, they were already in Lucy's house. Anxious, he sat down on her sofa and quickly threw his shirt away somewhere. He could hear her doing something in the kitchen and he couldn't stop his knees from shaking—he's gone through enough with cooking. He's been traumatized when he burned his first house because he forgot about the rice.

Nibbling on his bottom lip, he ruffled his hair and dragged a hand down his face, "Lucy?"

He heard her hum a reply from the other room.

"What are we cooking for tonight's meal?" He asked nervously, hoping that it was just simple and easy, not complicated and stressful like what Lucy was used to.

"Oh, sushi."

_Shit._

"Ramen."

_What?_

"And we'll bake some macaroons just for fun."

_Shit again._

"Are you sure we can cook all of that?" Gray asked wearily, gulping, "I'm sort of afraid to step into your kitchen."

Lucy's head poked through the door and she smiled at him reassuringly, "You'll be fine."

"I don't know. I mean—it seems a little difficult for me," he said quietly and she laughed, sticking her head back in the kitchen.

"What are you talking about? They're easy."

"For you," he grumbled.

He heard her giggle, "Oh, that's not true. I taught Natsu how to make ramen on his own before and believe me, he was a natural."

That woke him up.

In a second, he was standing next to Lucy in her kitchen, a determined look in his eyes, "Alright then, we'll cook."

She looked up at him in amusement, "Oh? What happened to your fear of cooking?"

"I can't accept the fact that Natsu can cook and I can't," he said in irritation, washing his hands and wiping them away with a towel, "So, what first?"

"Macaroons," she said, smiling brightly.

He raised a brow, "Dessert first?"

"It's so that while they're in the oven, we can get to with the ramen and sushi!" she cheered and directed him to the table where bowls and different cooking utensils sat. The man swallowed heavily and stood in front of the table, gingerly touching the spoon.

After a minute or two, Lucy stood beside him and raised a finger, "So, I've preheated the oven and now we're going to mix icing sugar and egg whites!"

"Egg whites?" Gray repeated, furrowing his eyebrows, "What the heck are you going to do with egg whites?"

She rolled her eyes, "Macaroons, duh."

"Isn't it supposed to be flour?"

"Um, no."

The ice mage blinked and watched the blonde who started separating the egg yolks from the whites. Once finished, she handed him the metal bowl and a whisk. "Whisk that until it turns light and foamy," she explained and then returned to her post.

Gray licked his chapped lips and slowly began to whisk the egg whites. Cautiously, he started going faster and faster until he felt the tension seep away from his body. He sighed in relief and continued mixing until it turned into light and foamy just like what Lucy said. When he was done, he tapped Lucy on the shoulder and she looked at him from behind.

Humming, she nodded, "That's perfect. Set that aside for now."

Gray did as he was told and then stood behind Lucy and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Ah," she cleared her throat and wiped the sweat on her forehead with the back of her arm, "I just finished sifting confectioners' sugar and some ground almonds—you're fine with nuts, aren't you?"

"I'm okay."

"Good," she said and smiled, "Can you hand me the egg whites you just whisked?"

Gray took the bowl and gave it to her then watched as she folded the mixture in the egg whites. While she was doing that, he patted his hands together and didn't notice that he got Lucy's hair all white.

"Hey!" she whined and the man snickered.

"Sorry."

"Sorry your ass," she grumbled and dipped her finger in the foam then swiped it across his cheek, "Behave."

Gray feigned shock and glared at her, "How dare you!"

Lucy squealed as her sides were attacked with Gray's frosted fingers, giving her chills and tickles at the same time. She laughed and clutched her sides, trying to get rid of his hands. While howling in laughter, she managed to say, "Spare me!"

"Never!" He shouted and Lucy released another squeal as her back hit the table, her head just next to her cooking materials. Giggling, she stared into his eyes then fell silent when he stared back at her intensely.

Clearing her throat, she looked away and bit her lip, "Gray, uh, the macaroons aren't done yet."

"Ah, right!"

He got off her and rubbed the back of his neck while looking away, listening to Lucy's footsteps that thundered on her wooden floor. Once he had calmed down, he resumed to observing Lucy and saw her piping the batter onto the baking sheet in rounds. He watched with interest as she finished piping the macaroons then put them aside and said, "Okay, now let's let them sit for a while to room temperature."

"Now what?" he asked, leaning against the table, "Sushi or ramen?"

"Ramen."

_Ah, shit._

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity, they finished cooking everything except for the macaroons which were currently in the oven baking. And while they waited for the treats to finish cooking before eating dinner, Lucy and Gray decided to clean her keys since they've needed some attention for quite a while.

"Is this your daily routine?" the ice mage asked in curiosity, lifting Virgo's key and examining the deep creases before digging the tip of the cloth in it, "It seems rather boring."

Lucy laughed, "Not really. I don't do this every day. I mean, I do jobs with you guys and sometimes I just relax here at home. How about you?" she picked up Loke's key and smirked as it sparkled brightly, "What do you do at home?"

"I sleep," he deadpanned, gently placing Virgo's key on the pillow before picking up Aries'.

"You _just sleep_?" Lucy asked, disbelief portrayed on her face.

Gray shrugged and began rubbing the key with affection, knowing that if he was rough with it, Lucy's spirits wouldn't like and he'd feel bad about that. Licking his lips, he stared at the blonde from the corner of his eyes, "Sometimes I practice my magic, sometimes I sleep. It alternates."

"Sounds dull."

"Maybe."

Lucy sighed and placed Loke's key back on the pillow, this time picking up Lyra's. She hummed and began to clean the silver key, "I suppose not everyone spends their day well then."

The man placed Aries' key on the pillow and ran his fingers lightly through his hair, shrugging once more, "I suppose."

"You're so not fun," Lucy said, pushing her bottom lip out. She meant to spend Valentine's with Gray as friends, but he was just so tedious that it was starting to seep into her.

"Well, I'm enjoying my time with you right now," he said, ignoring her shocked look and continuously cleaning her keys, "What's wrong with me?"

The blonde winced and bit her lip, "You sound lifeless."

"Ahhh," was his reply.

Lucy sighed, "See?"

Gray's lips twitched in amusement and he ignored her. Instead, he finished cleaning all of her keys and then shifted so that he was facing her. He then leaned forward until his face was inches away from hers, staring deep into her brown eyes. Smirking, he spoke, "You want to have fun?"

Gulping, the woman managed to get out a small yes.

Leaning closer until she felt his breath hit her lips, he whispered, "Well, you asked for it," and kissed her.

Wide-eyed, she only managed to blink as his lips quickly left hers. She heard the sound of her alarm ringing off in the background, telling her that it was time to take out the macaroons. Since she was still frozen from the kiss, Gray merely shrugged and stood up to take care of the annoying bell. He also went to the kitchen to fetch the freshly baked macaroons, deciding that cooking wasn't so bad after all.

While he busied himself with the macaroons, Lucy was pondering over the recent kiss she and Gray shared. It was no secret that she thought of him as someone who was really hot—honestly, who wouldn't think of him that way? He had a six-pack, he was handsome and he was definitely sexy. It was no wonder Juvia liked to have fantasies about the man—he was the epitome of hotness.

But, unlike the rain woman, she didn't go after Gray. Why? Because she knew she had no chance. With so many pretty girls around, she was just one of those girls who he spoke to because they were friends. It wasn't such a big impact, really. She accepted the fact a long, long, long, long time ago when Juvia came around. The bluenette was prettier than her and deserved Gray's love and care. But was she happy? Of course not.

However, she deliberately tried not to get too attached to the man and often took jobs with Natsu and not him. At first he asked the reason why, but explained that it was because he was always gone whenever she wanted to go on jobs or missions which weren't a complete lie—every now and then he was there, and then he wasn't.

She had finally gotten a hang of it when this happened—the kiss. She didn't expect him to suddenly kiss her. Well, who would when everybody knows that he has no plans for a romantic relationship?

Shaking her head to get rid of her thoughts, she slapped her hands on her cheeks and stood up to head over to the kitchen. Though she could feel her heart hammering painfully against her ribcage, she walked over to her teammate who was washing the plates, his back facing her.

"H-Have you tasted the macaroons?" She asked the man and cursed herself for stuttering.

"Nope, they're still too hot."

"They're delicious that way."

"Oh."

Biting her lip softly, she sat down in front of the table and desperately tried to calm her heart. She'd never felt this nervous before—not even when Natsu introduced her to Fairy Tail. This was intimidating and unnerving because the guy she liked _kissed her._

Can you believe it? Kissed her!

Inhaling sharply, she closed her eyes and whispered comforting words to herself under her breath. It was easy being with him earlier, but after doing that? It was definitely not easy anymore. It was getting… out of hand.

"So, are we going to eat or what?"

Lucy jumped in surprised and looked over her shoulder to find Gray standing right behind her. Stammering, she nodded, "L-Let's eat."

The ice mage smirked and sat across her, filling his bowl with ramen and taking a saucer packed with sushi. Then he eyed Lucy who started eating with trembling hands, his brow slowly lifting into an amused stare.

"You're shaking," he clarified, his lip twitching.

Lucy nibbled on her lip, "R-Really?"

"Yea. Why?"

The blonde went silent and she placed her chopsticks back on her plate, staring at it like it was interesting. Noticing her unusual behavior, Gray smiled and pushed his plate away, bending over the table to flick her cheek, "Ah, the kiss."

She tensed and he thought, _"I hit the spot."_

"What about it?" he asked.

"I…" Lucy trailed off, her cheeks turning red, "I liked it…?"

Gray's eyebrow rose once again, "Oh?"

"Shut up," she mumbled and covered her face with her hands. When she heard nothing from him, she peeked from the spaces between her fingers and found the mage missing. She stood up and turned to search for him but froze.

"So…" he whispered in her ear, trapping her against the table, "you liked it."

Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat, "I d-did?"

"Hnn."

"What of it?" she asked nervously, avoiding his eyes.

The man chuckled and leaned back a little to stare at her, "It's nice," and kissed her. She reluctantly pushed him away and looked up at him.

"I thought you were fine with being single?" she asked, puffing her cheeks.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "I said I'm fine with you being single, not me."

"And I thought you didn't like Valentine's?" Lucy questioned, smiling in triumph when Gray fell silent. He looked at her then at her lips and shrugged.

"I've just realized that Valentine's isn't that boring as I thought it'd be."

Lucy grinned widely, "I was right after all."

"Oh don't get your hopes up; you just happened to be lucky," he said and rolled his eyes, "By the way, are we going to continue eating or what?"

Lucy gave the food they cooked a sideway glance and pushed her plate away, pulling Gray in by the neck, "I think I've lost my appetite."

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**A/N:** HI EVERYONE! Happy Valentine's day! I hope no one's bitter and heart broken during this special day, because we can still spend the day with our families and friends. If you're single, so what? Enjoy it with your single friends too! Trust me, you'll have fun. At first I planned on writing nothing at all for today, but then motivation bursted and here it is! I've also thought of another one-shot for this very special day but it could take a while before I can get it done.

Anyway, I hope you liked it and remember, this is a story so do not hope for this to happen to you, too. Because trust me, it's weird.

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you're happy as much as I am right now :)

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_"Sometimes Valentine's can be the reason for you to find someone, not for you to feel alone."_

_Byee! -Anne :D_

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_- Please support/read my other stories: **Celebrity Issues, Good Meets Bad, Fragile, Forgotten Memories, Life's Challenges, Queen of Stars, A Love That Lasts Forever **and **Going Against The Current.**_


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